About us

Department of Mental and Behavioural Health Sciences

Investigating the causes and treatments of mental ill-health, and the impact of health and social policies on psychological wellbeing, and investigating the determinants of positive doctor: patient (or healthcare professional: service-user) relationships and communication.

Institute of Psychology, Health and Society

The Institute of Psychology, Health and Society conducts world-leading research into the effectiveness of health services, the social origins of health and social inequalities in healthcare, mental health and well-being, including the evaluation of a wide range of psychosocial interventions and therapies and conduct internationally acclaimed research into many aspects of psychology and human behaviour, including perception, language development, pain, addiction, appetite, and offending behaviour. We work collaboratively; the Institute employs academic GPs, public health professionals, psychologists from a range of professional backgrounds, psychiatrists, nurses, midwives, allied health professionals and social scientists. Our research groups work with colleagues from hugely diverse backgrounds; from academic colleagues from many Universities across the world, with industrial partners, with the NHS and other healthcare providers, politicians and political administrators, the police and partners across civil society.

We work across the world - from investigating respiratory disease in central America, through promoting the psychological well-being of young mothers in the middle east to studying attitudes towards epilepsy in Asia - and across widely different aspects of human behaviour - from innovative therapies for many different psychological problems, managing substance use and obesity, through helping people return to work after periods of ill-health and innovative food policies through to the policing of terrorist incidents. In all these areas, our work is characterised by a focus on research excellence and by attention to the real world impact of our scholarship. In addition to our large and active programme of postgraduate research, we contribute substantially to undergraduate teaching in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, and many of us provide clinical services through local NHS Trusts.

Staff research interests

Dr Jan BoggE: jbogg@liv.ac.ukOrganisational and occupational issues within the healthcare workforce; psychometrics and development of patient assessment tools.

Professor Christoph LauberE: christoph.lauber@liv.ac.ukSocial inclusion and exclusion of people with severe mental illness: supported employment in people with psychosis and common mental disorders, user and carer involvement in mental health care, stigma of people with mental illness, mental health services research and intervention studies.

Dr Cherie McCrackenE: c.f.m.mccracken@liv.ac.ukEpidemiology of cognitive impairment and ageing with particular reference to nutrition, social networks and resilience.

Professor James McGuireE: j.mcguire01@liv.ac.ukApplications of psychology to criminal justice; treatment of offenders; factors influencing aggression; social problem solving and cognitive-behavioural therapies; development and evaluation of interventions to reduce violence.

Dr William SellwoodE: sellwood@liv.ac.ukApplication of cognitive behavioural approaches to management of severe mental illness including family-based interventions; patients’ decisions as to whether or not to accept treatment; methods of putting research findings into routine clinical practice.

Professor Ken WilsonE: k.c.m.wilson@liv.ac.ukSystematic review, meta-analysis in depression in old age, epidemiology of old age mental health; intervention studies in depression in old age and Parkinson disease; health services research in dementia and affective disorders in old age.

Professor Atif Rahman

Our students conduct clinical and applied research to improve mental health across the life span, in the local as well as the global context and offers an opportunity to help people in difficulty to achieve healthy, happy, successful outcomes and achieve their potential in life.